Question:
I have been following this thread since the beginning, and wanted to
post a separate thread here. I have been going to Lost and Found in
Greensboro for over five years, watched another small bead store go
out of business here, and frequently visit other bead store and show
here in North Carolina. I order from mail order. I go to the bead
shows in the area. But if I want something unique or vintage, I go to
the bead shops. I don't know how others feel about this, but I don't
like to make 20 of the same thing, so I don't want to spend $15 on up
for a strand. I want to hold it. I want to talk to other fellow
beaders. I want to learn more about what I am buying, and that is
what the local bead shop is all about to me.
What started this was that people in this area complain that there is
no bead store in "their town", and will drive 2-1/2 hours away to
stores, but say that the local store never has anything when they
HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN THERE.
So what if a bead is 50 cents in the store and a strand is $4.00 in a
catalog? If it's over 50 years old, your chances of finding it in a
catalog are not all that great. Not everybody wants so many beads you
can't remember what you have. And, if you buy from a catalog, do you
know what you're buying. There is nothing like having a relationship
with who you buy from. I am sick to death of the discounter mentality
where if it's cheap enough, it doesn't matter if you're treated like
dirt.
Anyway...
Visit you local store- if they are any good, they will stock what you
need, help you to improve, give advice, and make it worth the trip.
Answer:
- you dont like a bargain? I refuse to be treated like dirt
mail order or local bead store,but I find that I prefer to buy by the strand
for czech glass and 50 to 100 grams for delicas. I guess I am just getting
more obcessed and perhaps more focused on what I want. I always go to my local
bead store for the new and unusual and shows are good for that too.
-I agree with you. I like to order in quanity for my bulk needs, my local
bead store can't help me there, but I still buy plenty of new things I
haven't seen before and things I don't need a lot of from my local bead
store. I refuse to deal with anyone that doesn't treat me right, that
doesn't back their product and who doesn't have time to talk to me and
answer my questions.
